Rory McIlroy’s caddie reprised his Masters masterstroke at this week’s PGA Championship. Harry Diamond famously urged the Northern Irishman to head to the driving range following his troubled Saturday at this year’s Masters – a decision that proved pivotal in McIlroy claiming his second consecutive Green Jacket – and he took a similar approach this weekend. When Diamond intervened in April, the Ryder Cup star had thrown away a lead at Augusta National to head into the final round level with Cameron Young. He was visibly disheartened before his caddie persuaded him to make his way to the Augusta National practice facility and the pair spent the evening there ironing out the world No.2’s swing path.
That late-night session proved enormously fruitful as McIlroy executed the very shots he had rehearsed on the range the following day, ultimately edging out Scottie Scheffler by a single stroke to secure his sixth major title. Reflecting on the moment, he told the Golf Channel: “I think I needed it, and Harry was the one. When we were in scoring, he said, ‘Why don’t we hit a few balls, try to straighten this out? I’ll get over there, do your media, and I’ll get over there.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.'”
Having reaped such rich rewards from that approach at the Masters, the Northern Irishman opted to replicate the very same routine at the PGA Championship. McIlroy, a pre-tournament favourite to clinch victory after two previous wins, endured a difficult opening round at the major earlier in the week.
The 37 year old posted a 74 on Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club, closing out his day with four consecutive bogeys after sitting at level par. He acknowledged the need to sharpen up his “wayward” driving, and subsequently headed to the practice range with friend and caddie Diamond to put in extra work.
McIlroy wrapped up his first round at approximately 2pm and was spotted putting in the hard yards on the range for at least four hours afterwards. The approach appeared to bear fruit as he demonstrated a markedly improved driving display on Friday.
He thrust himself back into contention with a bogey-free three-under 67 in the second round, reigniting his prospects of claiming the title for the first time since 2014. McIlroy enters Saturday’s play tied for 30th but is just five strokes behind joint leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley.